The ads, which will appear in subways and bus stops, encourage women in abusive relationships to seek help before situation becomes violent.

A city agency created by Mayor Bloomberg to combat domestic violence plans to paper subways and the bus system with dire warnings to women who may not realize they're being abused.

"Broken, threatened, put-down, scared," the stark ads ask against the backdrop of a woman crying. "If you feel any of these in your relationship, that's abuse."

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The ads from the Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence, which will start appearing in subways and on bus shelters Thursday, are part of a campaign called "That's Abuse" that aims to encourage women in abusive relationships to seek help before the situation becomes violent.

"The idea behind a message like this is if there is emotional abuse going on, we know from research that that may tend to escalate to physical abuse," Yolanda Jimenez, the agency's commissioner, told the Daily News.

The $250,000 public service campaign is being financed by the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, a Bloomberg-created nonprofit that raises funds for city initiatives.

The campaign, which runs until the end of the year, is one of many the agency has created since 2001. It is timed to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month — and the Sept. 26, 1999, death of Gladys Ricart, a former Washington Heights woman who was killed by an abusive ex-boyfriend.

In addition to the 1,600 posters, the campaign will include video and radio spots created free by Bandujo, an advertising company.

Officials at the mayoral agency say the ads are part of a longtime push to prevent abuse before it begins, an effort they say has helped bring domestic violence down 16% since Bloomberg took office.

Reports of abuse have risen by 0.5% so far this year — translating to 268 more incidents of abuse — but officials say their approach is working and point to a 22% decrease in domestic homicides compared with the corresponding period last year.